Glendora to Eliminate City Animal Control Services

With a limited Animal Control staff and even more city budget reductions, the Glendora City Council approved a proposal to dissolve its city Animal Control department and contract out its local animal control services to the Inland Valley Humane Society.

The Glendora Police Department announced that with a 26 percent cut made to the city budget, the department was forced to contract out its animal control services for a three-year contract with IVHS to provide more quality service to it local residents.

“This is a cost-neutral option,” Police Chief Rob Castro told the city council during its Tuesday meeting. “This will enhance our level of service that we currently do not have due to our fiscal position at this time.”

Castro said that the Animal Control department shrank from four full-time employees to one full-time employee and one part-time employee in a matter of several years.

The Animal Control department, which has run local services in Glendora since 1976, worked with IVHS for its animal shelter services. When stray dogs were picked up in the community, the dogs would be kept at a kennel at the Glendora Police Department and then transferred to IVHS at the end of the day where they would be kept until their owners claimed them, provided medical care or adopted out, said Castro.

A new contract with IVHS would cost the city $220,000, roughly the same amount the city currently budgets for its local animal control services.

However, IVHS recently informed the Glendora Police Department that they would no longer offer partial services to its clients, rather all clients must choose their full line of services This includes animal shelter, low cost spay and neutering, vaccination clinics, microchip scanning and the ability to obtain and renew licenses online. A bigger staff at IVHS would also offer Glendora one officer to respond to wildlife issues, one officer to respond to animal cruelty cases and 24/7 emergency response.

Castro said that with Glendora’s current limited staff, non-Animal Control personnel would have to handle Animal Control duties and calls for service, resulting in an added cost to the city.

“At this point in time it makes sense to explore a contracting option because we find ourselves at a point where we are not able to provide adequate animal control service with the number of personnel that we have,” said Castro.

IVHS, which currently serves nine other cities in the area, including Claremont, La Verne, Pomona and Ontario, would also be able to canvas the city for illegally unlicensed dogs.

According to Captain Tim Staab, there are about 5,000 unlicensed dogs in the city.

“Of all of our vicious dog attacks that has occurred in Glendora in the last 5 years, all of those attacks have occurred as a result of unlicensed dogs,” said Staab.

Residents will no longer call Glendora Police Department once animal control services are transferred to IVHS. The Department will initiate a marketing campaign to alert residents to begin contacting IVHS for animal control concerns and questions.